“Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity:”
My Notes
What Does Psalms 64:2 Mean?
David asks God to hide him from two things: the "secret counsel" of the wicked and the "insurrection" of evildoers. One is hidden (conspiracy), the other is open (revolt). David needs protection from both the plots he can't see and the attacks he can.
The word "secret counsel" (sod) refers to a private conference, an intimate circle of planning. The wicked are organizing behind closed doors, coordinating their assault in a way David can't observe or counter. It's the unseen dimension of opposition — the meeting you weren't invited to, the decision made about you in your absence.
"Insurrection" (rigshah) means tumult, uproar — the public manifestation of what was planned in secret. First they plot. Then they attack. David asks for protection from both stages: the invisible planning and the visible execution.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Have you ever felt like plans were being made about you that you couldn't see or counter?
- 2.What's the difference between asking God to expose your enemies and asking God to hide you from them?
- 3.How do you respond to the 'secret counsel' — the gossip, the plotting, the behind-the-scenes opposition?
- 4.Where do you need God's hiding right now — from both the seen and unseen threats?
Devotional
The secret counsel. The closed-door meeting where your name comes up and you're not there to defend yourself. The plan being assembled in the dark by people who smile at you in the light.
David knew about both kinds of attack — the hidden and the open. And he asked God to hide him from both. Not just the army charging at him, but the conspiracy forming against him. The seen and the unseen.
This is a prayer for anyone who has ever felt like something was happening behind the scenes — like plans were being made about your life that you weren't part of. The gossip circulating where you can't hear it. The decisions being made in rooms you can't enter. The counsel that's secret precisely because it wouldn't survive sunlight.
David doesn't pray to expose the conspiracy. He prays to be hidden from it. There's a difference. He's not asking God to let him fight the plotters. He's asking God to put him beyond their reach. Sometimes the best response to the secret counsel of the wicked isn't to break into the room — it's to be hidden by God so thoroughly that their plans can't find you.
God's hiding is more effective than your investigating. Let Him hide you.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked,.... The word used denotes both the place where wicked men meet together…
Hide me - Or, more literally, thou wilt hide me. There is both an implied prayer that this might be done, and a…
David, in these verses, puts in before God a representation of his own danger and of his enemies' character, to enforce…
Thou wilt hide me from the secret council of evil doers,
From the tumultuous throng of workers of iniquity.
i.e. from…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture